Church Of St Martin

Church of St Martin

This is a parish church in North Leverton, built over several centuries from the 12th to the 15th century, with significant restoration in the 19th century. The building is constructed of ashlar and dressed stone with coursed rubble and ashlar dressings, with slate roofs. It features chamfered and moulded plinths throughout.

The church comprises a west tower, nave, south aisle, chancel, and south porch.

The west tower dates to the 15th century and has two stages. It features a string course and eaves band decorated with four gargoyles, topped by a crenellated parapet. Two diagonal buttresses to the west have set-offs. The south side contains three stair lights. On the west side is a small Tudor arched door, with above it a 15th-century triple lancet window with round heads, panel tracery, cove mullions, and chamfered and coved reveal with hood mould. The second stage has four double round-headed bell openings with hood moulds.

The nave comprises four bays. The north side has five buttresses, the westernmost gabled and linked to the tower, with three restored 13th-century double lancets featuring Y tracery and hood moulds. To the west is a four-centred arched blocked doorway. The east end has a coped gable with a cross. The south side has a single buttress to the west and a gabled buttress linked to the tower. To the west is a single restored 13th-century lancet with Y tracery.

The south aisle spans two bays with coped gables and crosses at each end. The east end has a buttress with set-offs and a tall 14th-century triple lancet with cusped heads and flowing tracery. The south side has a pair of corner buttresses to the east and three further buttresses to the south with gabled trefoil-headed niches. Two early 14th-century triple lancets with intersecting and Decorated tracery feature chamfered and rebated reveals with hood moulds and mask stops. The restored west end contains a 19th-century circular window with quatrefoil tracery.

The chancel spans two bays. Two pairs of corner buttresses to the east have set-offs. A coped east gable bears a cross. The north side has a central four-centred arched blocked doorway and two 14th-century triple lancets with cusped heads, Decorated tracery, and hood moulds. The east end features a 14th-century triple lancet with cusped ogee heads, Decorated tracery, and hood mould. The south side has a single buttress and a central restored priest's door with a chamfered ogee head, flanked by two 14th-century triple lancets similar to the north side.

The south porch is 19th-century work in 13th-century style. A large clasping buttress stands to the west. The west side has two chamfered single lancets. The south door is double chamfered and rebated with moulded round responds and hood mould, above which is a small blocked lancet. A moulded coped gable with cross crowns the porch. The inner south doorway dates to around 1200 and features three orders: a roll-moulded arch with keeled responds with square capitals, a roll-moulded and keeled soffit with a dogtooth band and fleur-de-lys and mask terminals, and round responds with crocketed capitals.

Interior features include a 14th-century nave south arcade with two bays, comprising a single octagonal pier and west respond with chamfered bases and moulded capitals. The east impost has been re-cut into a crude volute and fielded square panel. The arches are double chamfered and rebated. The walls have 19th-century timber panelling, traceried to the north and west. The roof is 19th-century work with king posts and corbels carrying arched braces to billeted collars, curved struts, and wind braces. The tower arch, dating to the 13th century, is double chamfered and rebated with tapered octagonal imposts. A traceried timber screen of 1928 encloses the tower chamber to form a vestry containing fitted vestment cupboards. The south aisle roof mirrors the north aisle. The chancel arch, 13th-century and restored, is double chamfered and rebated with round black marble imposts with moulded capitals and conical corbels. The north side contains a small ogee-headed aumbry, and the south side has a cusped ogee-headed piscina. All windows are fitted with coloured borders and patterns. The chancel roof is 19th-century panelled timber wagon vault.

Fittings include 19th-century roll-topped deal benches and traceried panelled choir stalls with corniced backs and fleur-de-lys finials. A 19th-century pierced panelled pulpit stands in the church, along with a brass lectern with twisted bracketed stem. The font is 19th-century work with an eggcup shape and round black marble shaft on a square base, topped with an 18th-century octagonal cover with turned knob.

Memorials include a war memorial tablet, two rolls of honour, brasses from 1837 and 1886, two from the 20th century, and two Classical-style marble and slate tablets dated 1832 and 1834.